Eco-Business

Eco-Business takes a look at the key issues being pushed at the pavilions of Asean countries at the climate summit in Baku.

Rich nations have the “legal and moral obligation” to pay the US$1.3 trillion that developing countries are asking for to endure climate impacts, say advocates. But some Southeast Asian countries may no longer rely on it to adapt to climate change.

A new climate guide for the region’s boards of directors warns of growing legal consequences for corporate stewards who fail to account for climate and sustainability-related risks.

Policy & Finance

COP29, in numbers

How much could a new climate finance goal amount to? How many delegates will attend the summit this year? Eco-Business explores which numbers matter at the world’s biggest climate conference that will kick off in Azerbaijan this week.

By Rhick Lars Albay

By Vincent Tan

By Siva Selan

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A street in South Jakarta, with exposed electrical infrastructure

To achieve net zero emissions in Southeast Asia, addressing the significant financing gap is crucial, requiring bold targets and more international support. By Trang Nguyen

If policymakers and ESG proponents fail to ensure that the ESG agenda is equitable and credible – directly benefiting working class and rural communities – the credibility of ESG will deteriorate further. By Dr Pieter E. Stek

Solar power plant, Central Thailand, energy transition

How the region’s populations view decarbonisation as the energy transition occurs can inform stronger leadership and better policymaking at the elite level. By Mirza Sadaqat Huda

Enshrining free, prior and informed consent in Malaysian law can improve the credibility of carbon projects. In the meantime, carbon conversations must include Indigenous voices and wisdom. By Samantha Ho

By Christina Ng

By Elyssa Kaur Ludher

By Siti Dina Razman Pahri

By Edmund Bon

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The origin of Covid-19 is believed to be a market selling live wild animals. Eco-Business asked Anbarasi Boopal of Singapore-based animal welfare charity Acres about the link between the exploitation of animals and pandemics, and what can be done to curb the illegal wildlife trade.

Air-conditioning units on a building in Singapore

Improving energy efficiency could meet a quarter of Southeast Asia’s emissions reduction targets. Here is how efficiency could drive Southeast Asia's energy transition.

Southeast Asian nations are racing to bring clean, affordable power to their people, but one country is outrunning them all. How can states make their renewable energy transition a success?

Simon Lord and Pamela Mar on Sustainability One on One

In the first in a new video series where sustainability leaders interview each other about the toughest things about their jobs, Simon Lord of Malaysian palm oil giant Sime Darby Plantation went head to head with Pamela Mar of Hong Kong-based textile and apparel giant Fung Group.

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Podcast on RSPO's new principles and criteria for certifying palm oil as environmentally and socially sustainable.

EB Studio The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has released new criteria for certifying responsibly grown palm oil. What's changed and how does RSPO respond to criticism that the new standard lowers the bar for deforestation?

Sea orchards developed on decommissioned oil platforms

Former petrochemicals industry executives Steve Willis and Genevieve Hilton have written a novel set 50 years into the future that has a happy ending. They tell the Eco-Business podcast that the book is a pitch to carbon-intensive industries to try workable climate solutions.

The oil and gas sector needs to cut operational emissions faster, Charlotte Wolff-Bye tells the Eco-Business podcast. But slashing fuel output won’t do for the Asian supplier, and it welcomes respectful debate at the climate summit.

EB Studio Transboundary haze pollution is back with a vengeance in Southeast Asia. The Eco-Business Podcast talks to RSPO CEO Joseph D'Cruz about what the palm oil sector can do to put out the peatland fires that have burned annually for four decades.

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